“This doesn’t work for me” is the biggest mistake you’ll make in your business

You've tried many tips and tricks for marketing your handmade product but it seems like nothing is working.

Feelings of frustration and disappointment creep in.

How do other makers, artists and designers make it seem so easy?

How are they able to make a full time, stable income with their craft?

Aren't these questions that everyone wants answers to?

Good news: I have the answer for you here today.

Mindset matters

Like most things in life, running your own business is not a cakewalk.

That's why 96% of businesses fail within the first 10 years.

Or you never really get it off the ground.

As your own boss, you have to wear a variety of hats, from social media marketing manager to product designer.

It's a lot of pressure and responsibility to do a good job with all those different roles.

But here's how the best in business make it far:

They first work on their mindset.

Your mindset is the foundationalbuildingblock that everything else stands on.

If you have a weak mindset, are incapable of pushing through challenges or picking yourself up after falling down, you will fail without a doubt.

It's painful to hear, but awareness of the truth is the first step.

Mindset matters, whether you like it or not.

Few people work on self improvement.

Fewer people invest in financial education.

Be open to learning, be positive, do the hard work and adapt to changes as they happen.

Asking the right questions

A few very smart people have said:

– Albert Einstein

– Thomas J. Watson

– Oscar Wilde

In the past month, you could have tried:

your first paid ad on Facebook

writing a blog post

pitching your products to a magazine

posting pictures on Instagram

sending an email newsletter

Among other things.

But you didn't get any sales, traffic or responses from all that you've tried.

Sounds familiar, right?

Yeah, we all go through this, even the most successful people. We all start somewhere!

What differentiates failures and successes is in asking the right questions.

After trying so hard to promote your work, you don't get any results and your next thought might look like this:

“This doesn't work for me.”

And then you try doing some other tip or trick to make that sale.

But you fail all over again and claim it doesn't work for you.

Then you try the next shiny thing, promising you thousands in sales.

Rinse and repeat, it's a vicious cycle.

A simple reframe is all you need.

Go from “this doesn't work for me” to:

“How can I make this work for me?”

Asking the right questions opens up your mind to investigatinghow you can improve on your efforts.

Having a successful outcome is all about executing many small, right moves in order.

You're much more likely to give something an honest effort if you're curious about how you can make it work for your business.

Asking “how can I make this work for me?” would motivate you to seek out answers, speak with experts, read books or attend classes on the topic.

It would encourage you to keep trying, persevere and persist.

Think about it.

Let's say you're trying to get fit and in shape. You sign up for a membership to a gym or for yoga classes.

A few weeks into it and you don't see any results.

You then conclude that “I hate working out” and you stop.

What you should really be asking is:

“How can I lose weight in a way that's effective and fun?”

If your business and the idea of living your life on your own terms is important enough to you, it's imperative that you make this mindset shift.

It may not happen overnight, but maybe now that you've read this article, you're more likely to spot when you've made a limiting statement and switch it over to an open question that will motivate you to do better.

Comments

Thanks for this! I’m going to start reprogramming my thought process. I feel like this article was written just for me because this is how I’ve been feeling for some time now. I’m ready to make a change in my limiting thoughts so I can create limitless opportunities for my business to grow! Thanks Mei!

I so agree with what you are saying. I’ve been down about my newsletter and lack of response but I realize the problem is something I’m not doing right and not the newsletter idea itself. So I’m not abandoning it, just making changes to work better for me.

The frustration of trying something new and shiny that everyone swears is “the magic formula to success” and seeing nothing come of it can be so heartbreaking! Every business is different and sometimes these things need to be tweaked to work for you. Staying positive can be hard but necessary to keeping moving forward, eventually I’ll find the solution that I can make work for me.

You sound like you’re on the right track, Jennifer! It’s so important not to give up too quickly or easily. I’ve experienced so many failures in my own business, but you gotta keep pushing through if you really want this to work!

If only there were a crystal ball to tell use exactly what to do and when! That would be amazing! Since that’s not going to happen, starting with the website is the best place to begin. Get that right first and then build on the marketing. Get the brand cohesive. Focus on creating the best possible product. And be in it for the LONG haul. Because everybody knows it takes 10 years or more to be an over night success.

You’re definitely not the only one who wishes there’s a crystal ball… and that’s the approach I try to take with Creative Hive. Yes, there are plenty of different ways to build a business, but most people I meet who don’t know where to start just want someone to tell them what to do. There’s so much overwhelm, but on the flipside, there are so many opportunities for us to build a business online now, more than ever!

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I'm Mei ('may') from Minneapolis. I want to help you build a sustainable, profitable handmade business that makes you consistent income and sales. I only ever teach or recommend marketing, social media, pricing, production and branding tips that I've personally used in my own handmade business and that I know work. Read More…